Hoping for a star to run the city schools

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerDr. Clifford Janey, superintendent of Newark public schools, speaks with school employees during a staff meeting in this 2008 photo. His contract was not renewed.

Now that Newark is shopping for a new superintendent, it’s time to tick off the must-haves.

Here’s the kind of leader the district badly needs: Someone who holds teachers directly accountable for the performance of their students, helping those who need it and getting rid of those who can’t cut it. Someone who can negotiate a contract with the teachers union that diminishes job protections based on seniority, so it’s easier to fire the bad instructors and principals.

And since the newcomer will likely be plucked from another city, it must be someone with enough political skill to overcome Newark’s suspicion of outsiders, someone who can build local support for bold changes.

Newark schools chief Clifford Janey, who lost his position this week, failed to score the kind of substantial improvement the city must have. A good-enough superintendent is fine in a place that already has decent schools. But Newark needs a star.

The city’s school system was taken over by the state in 1995 due to mismanagement and low performance. And while there have been measurable improvements, the district is still failing kids. In many grades, only about half of the students are proficient on state reading and math tests. Forty-six percent of students who enter the system fail to graduate high school.

The challenges are substantial. Tough fights must be picked with the teachers union over the existing contract. And Newark still has to finish creating its database that links student test scores to specific teachers, to help weed out incompetent instructors and make salary and tenure decisions based on merit.

The political environment couldn’t be worse for the city’s school system. Mayor Cory Booker is eager to gain control of the system, but confidence in his leadership is at an all-time low thanks to the city’s disastrous budget shortfall. Gov. Chris Christie is at war with the educational establishment, cutting school funding and battling the teachers unions.

Yet at the same time, a coalition is building for reform as Newarkers push for something better. Parents are lining up thousands deep on charter school waiting lists, hoping to enroll their children in the city’s best programs. Voters chose a new president of Newark’s advisory school board, Shavar Jeffries, who is pushing for reform. Union president Joseph Del Grosso has signaled he’s open to improving teacher performance, and the mayor and governor have stated their willingness to fight for it.